At Home with Tech

Just like our family, I bet you took a few great photos today, celebrating your awesome ‘Dadness.’ Now, it’s time to print them! If you want to retain some of that ‘Dad of the Day’ afterglow, don’t pay top dollar to fill your printer’s empty photo paper tray.

As if life doesn’t already have enough opportunities,
certain ‘forces’ have added a few more ‘holidays’ to the calendar to challenge your photo-taking prowess…

That said, today is supposed to be the one day of the year you get to kick back as a father and not worry about any of that.

Ahhhh… Father’s Day… The day to put aside all your home tech worries.

You can just enjoy being a dad, and maybe take a few photos.
What could possibly go wrong?

Well, at day’s end you just might want to print out a photo or two…

Pop quiz:
Are you, by any chance, fresh out of photo paper?

I know… some of you luddites may still print your photos down at the local CVS.
(not that there’s anything wrong with that)

Other enlightened souls wisely invest their time in creating photo books online.

I’ve been having trouble lately bending space-time. So I’ve found myself short on the temporal interval it takes to create one of these clever books.

So as a backup, I’ve found myself drawn to the quickest photo-printing solution available.  I just perform the ‘click’ and let my Epson Artisan printer do the rest of the work…

Printing Your Photo of the Week
I’ve developed a most enjoyable habit over the past three years.
I print out a 5” x 7” photo from my son’s weekend adventures to take to work on Monday mornings.

Not only does this practice add a breath of fresh air to your daily routine, but this ‘photo of the week’ printing structure will organically grow your own
5” x 7” collection of amazing prints.

Plus, these photos will probably become the keepers my decedents pull out of a long-lost shoebox a hundred years from now.
(Like anyone’s digital back up plan has half a chance of making it into the next century!)

So it makes sense to print with the best quality photo paper stock available.

I usually go for Epson’s ‘5 star’ Ultra Premium Glossy stock if I can find it, even though it’s more expensive than their standard photo paper.

In fact, I’ve generally found locating any Epson photo paper in the brick and mortar stores not that simple a task.

Whenever I frequent Staples, they seemingly have a warehouse full of HP photo paper, as the HP logo dominates Aisle 6 as far as the eye can see.
In the corner, a few Epson photo packages huddle together for warmth.

So I’m always on the lookout for my Epson paper supply and a deal to boot…!

News Flash: Epson.com Sells Paper!
Shortly after buying and registering my second Epson Artisan printer,
(my first was hobbled last year by the attack of my son’s killer penny)
I received an email from the Epson Store suggesting I check out their photo paper online.

I’m not one to eagerly begin a new relationship with another web vendor,
(I usually stick to Amazon, B&H Photo, and Diapers.com)
…but I decided to take a look.

It was the logical thing to do.

You know what I found?
Some reasonable pricing on their website… but nothing to really blog about.

Epson’s Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy:

• $18 for 60 sheets of 4” x 6”
• $25.20 for 100 sheets of 4” x 6”
• $9 for 20 sheets of 5” x 7”
• $15.30 for 20 sheets of 8” x 10”
• $36 for 50 sheets of 8.5” x 11”

You ‘Amazon-a-philes’ out there should be quick to point out that Amazon can still beat the cost on some of these items. (as long as you’ve got Amazon Prime)

And B&H Photo’s website also has Epson beat.
(Don’t they always?)

But that’s not the only email I ever got from Epson…

The Second Best Deal for Father’s Day
The best deal on Father’s Day is spending time with your family.
(D’uh!!!)

But I think Epson has the second best deal…

Two weeks ago, I received another email from Epson.
A magical email.
It said, “Guess what? We don’t need to make any money this week… so here’s a ludicrous discount for you!”
(not quoting them quite the way they wrote it…)

This email gave me a 40% discount!
Whoah!! It’s like finding the last golden ticket hidden in a Wonka Bar!

All right. I decided it was time to run the numbers again against Amazon and B&H Photo.

Yep. Epson officially rocks.
Their discounted pricing, coupled with their current free ground shipping offer makes them the best deal in town!

It was time to pull the trigger.

And so today… I am prepared.
My Epson photo printer is loaded and ready for action!

My tech is fed.
Now, it’s time to chill out…

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
So yes, you’ve got to play Epson’s little game…

• Register your email with Epson
• Wait for their email with the insane sales code
• (These actually show up several times a year)
• Order your photo paper whether you need some or not
• Believe, me you’ll use it…eventually

Let me be the first to congratulate all you prepared dads on a
Happy Father’s Day…
2014.